Percievement of the Black Community in the US

While I was scrolling down my Facebook timeline i stumbled across this picture:

Imagine how I felt when I read this and was completely shocked. First, I wondered why no one knew about this, why our black men are portrayed in the US as nothing but thugs and criminals and good-for-nothings. It was also after some reflection while writing this that I realized that my utter shock at this was as big a problem as it is. As I think while I write this, I become more aware of the fact that I have fed into these pictures of black men as probably has most of anyone else who has ever watched the news. The fact that 1) I was not aware of something like this at all, and 2) I was astounded when I read it, made me ashamed. It also opened my eyes to how much the media- which we already know and are becoming more aware of the fact that it is failing us- is able to twist things, give us a single story, and make us believe that is the only story. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie told us about the danger of a single story in her TED Talk. I absolutely love this TED talk because it makes me think about what I know and what I think I know. I now think of this nugget of information in relevance to this TED talk and feel horrible. I want to change this single story, and this is part of the reason why I am studying what I am, and doing what I do, so that these single stories won’t be the only stories any longer.

Have any comments about this single story or would like to discuss this revelation with me? Comment below.

Love you guys, Until Next Time

Tashina